Magnitude-5.3 earthquake among three to shake remote West Texas

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck West Texas on Saturday night, part of a swarm of earthquakes to rock the area near the Texas border with New Mexico, the U.S.

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck West Texas on Saturday night, part of a swarm of earthquakes to rock the area near the Texas border with New Mexico, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The temblor struck at 7:47 p.m. about 35 miles south of Whites City, New Mexico, the USGS said. The area is roughly midway between the Texas cities of Midland and El Paso.

The quake occurred nearly 4 miles beneath the earth's surface, the survey said.

Because the region has a sparse population, few residents were affected, the USGS said. Ground failure and landslides were unlikely, as was liquifaction, when soil behaves like a fluid, it said.

The temblor was part of a swarm of 46 mostly small earthquakes in the area since early April, USGS data indicates. There's a 65% chance of a strong aftershock with a week, it said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/earthquakes-53-magnitude-shake-remote-west-texas-rcna204670

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